Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape

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Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape is an astonishing biography of French cycling star Jacques Anquetil that pieces together, for the first time since his death in 1987, the story of his extraordinary life. On its own, Anquetil’s list of ‘firsts’ makes him worthy of a place in the cycling pantheon: he was the first man to win the Tour de France five times; the first to win all three grand tours (the Tour de France, Vuelta a España and Giro d’Italia); and the first to win both the Tour and Vuelta in the same year. As well as dealing with Anquetil’s considerable achievements as a cyclist, this book also explores his complex, unconventional and shocking private life. Among the many revelations, we learn how he seduced his doctor’s wife; how he acted as stepfather to her children before asking his stepdaughter to bear him a child; how, after his blood-daughter was born, he maintained a ménage à trois with his wife and stepdaughter for several years in the same house until the ‘family’ eventually fell apart; and how, in a bid to inspire jealousy in his two former lovers and encourage their return, he seduced his stepson’s ex-wife and had a child with her. Containing exclusive contributions from Anquetil’s family, friends, teammates and rivals, Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape unveils the real truth about one of cycling’s great legends.

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Paul Howard is a writer and journalist who contributes frequently to cycling magazines and the national press. His previous book, Riding High, was shortlisted for the National Sporting Club’s Best New Sports Writer prize.